Dodgers' Barnes: Yoshinobu Yamamoto 'Looked Better Than Ever' in Return from Injury

Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes loved what he saw Tuesday night out of starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who returned to a Major League mound after missing three months with a strained rotator cuff.

After watching Yamamoto allow just four hits, no walks and one earned run while striking out eight in 4.1 innings, Barnes told reporters: "It was pretty surprising. I didn't know how he was gonna look coming back from this, and he looked better than ever."

Despite Yamamoto's dominant outing, the Dodgers fell 6-3 at home to the Chicago Cubs, dropping them to 86-59 on the season, which is 4.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres for the National League West lead and one game behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the best record in the NL.

Like Barnes, Yamamoto himself was surprised by his performance, as he said through an interpreter: "Today's outing turned out much better than I expected."

Yamamoto provided a much-needed boost to a Dodgers starting rotation that has been ravaged by injuries throughout the season.

Starters Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Gavin Stone are all on the 15-day injured list with a chance to return this season, but it is unclear when or if they will.

Meanwhile, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Emmet Sheehan are on the 60-day IL and out for the rest of the campaign.

Now that he is back, Yamamoto is undoubtedly the best healthy starting pitcher the Dodgers have along with Jack Flaherty, who is 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA since L.A. acquired him from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline.

Slugger Shohei Ohtani was the headliner of the Dodgers' free-agent signing class during the offseason since they gave him a record 10-year, $700 million deal, but Yamamoto landed a big contract in his own right.

Making the leap from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, Yamamoto signed a 12-year, $325 million contract, which was the biggest in MLB history for a pitcher.

Yamamoto paid immediate dividends before getting injured and has put up great numbers over 15 starts, going 6-2 with a 2.88 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 92 strikeouts in 78 innings.

The 26-year-old was always going to be a key piece of the Dodgers' run to the playoffs and potentially the World Series, and his presence looms even larger now with pitchers like Glasnow and Kershaw on the shelf.

Yamamoto's return comes at the perfect time for the Dodgers since it will give them the opportunity to get him fully stretched out before the playoffs begin.

He also gives them a reliable starter they can count on every five days as they attempt to lock down one of the top two spots in the NL and a bye to the National League Division Series.